• Locals in three southern districts complain their houses still under water due to govt failure to plug breaches
• Irrigation minister says 70 and 90pc area of Alipur and Jalalpur Pirwala, respectively, devastated
LAHORE: The residents in different localities of Multan, Lodhran, and Bahawalpur districts remain homeless as the government has failed to plug the breaches at the Noraja Bhutta embankment along the Sutlej River despite the passage of 12 days.
Communities in Noraja Bhutta, Bahadurpur, Basti Lang, Kanu, and Dipal in Jalalpur Pirwala; Tarut Basharat, Daily Rajanpur, and Belaywala in Lodhran; Dunyapur, Jhangra, and Muradpur Soiwala in Bahawalpur were forced to live on the banks of the embankment, as their homes remained inundated.
Basti Lang resident Muhammad Bakhsh said the water was rising again in his union council, adding it would continue to rise if the Noraja Bhutta embankment was not plugged completely. “We are also hearing about another medium level flood in the Sutlej approaching Jalalpur Pirwala in a day or two, which would further increase the water level around our homes,” he said.
“We are also hearing that the government is plugging the Noraja Bhutta embankment but the water has yet to recede from these areas…,” he rued. Ijaz Khan, from the Tarut Bashart union council, said that the water level was increasing due to the breaches. He said that the government was placing heavy stones around the M-5 Motorway bridge to save it, but the water was not receding.
Multan Irrigation Department Chief Engineer Nawaz Bajwa told Dawn that three breaches in the Noraja Bhutta embankment along the Sutlej River were plugged to save Jalalpur Pirwala city. He said that they also saved the primary gas pipeline to Punjab.
Punjab Minister for Irrigation Kazim Pirzada revealed that 70 and 90 per cent of the population in Alipur and Jalalpur Pirwala, respectively, was affected by the recent floods. He said that Jalalpur required evacuation and Alipur needed a massive relief operation, with teams working round the clock to deliver essential supplies to Sultanpur, Shahbazpur, Seetpur, and other affected towns.
Normal flow
Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Irfan Ali Kathia said that the water flow across major rivers in Punjab had returned to normal levels. He said a low- to medium-level flood situation continued in the Sutlej River.
According to PDMA data, the Sutlej River is flowing at 95,000 cusecs at Ganda Singh Wala and 81,000 cusecs at the Suleimanki point. The Chenab River shows a flow of 55,000 cusecs at Marala, which reduces to 24,000 cusecs at Khanki Headworks and 29,000 cusecs at Qadirabad.
The flow at Head Trimmu was recorded at 35,000 cusecs. The Panjnad Headworks reported a flow of 118,000 cusecs. Meanwhile, the Ravi River presented lower readings, with 6,000 cusecs at Jassar, 9,000 cusecs at Shahdara, and 30,000 cusecs at Head Sidhnai. The flow at Balloki Headworks was measured at 28,000 cusecs.
